Lavia(glad she didn't speak to whites on a regular basis in undergrad. Thankful that she's doing this now, so she knows not to waste her time in law school with useless conversations with uninformed, malintentioned people).

I didn't even see this until now! It is like you have multiple personalities Lavia. Maybe if you go to Howard you won't have to waste your time speaking to white people since there are only 15 in the whole class! Sheesh un-f*cking-believable. You give your argument a huge blemish when you make statements like that.

And black people can't be racist. You are too much girl!

Actually, I don't see how it's racist "thinking" or even predjudiced. It's more of a protective mechanism, not speaking to whites on a regular basis in undergrad. We've since cleared up (or so I thought) that that is neither of our intentions. It's still stressful to speak on behalf of my race. And time consuming. And is it really helping anything? If it is, I'm happy to continue. If not, I would call it a waste of time.

How is it predjudiced, or racist, even, by your definition?

By the way. In undergrad, I could literally smile at every person that walked by me, white or otherwise, and NOT ONE white person would smile or acknowledge me. And I sure don't feel like spending my law school years explaining why I deserve to be there, and not because of my race.

Lavia

Protective mechanism? Well if you are planning on only interacting with people of the black race, then fine, go ahead and paint yourself into a corner. If you want to enter the real world where people of all races interact, then you better get used to talking to white people. Like it or not, I think what you typed was both prejudiced and racist.

I have noticed that your are imputing so much negative sentiment into what "white posters" have been typing. You might have run into some jerks who happen to be white, but this gives you no right to generalize this to the entire white race. Would it be acceptable for my friend, who nearly had his head bashed in, to decide to hate all blacks and refrain from conversing with them? I think not.

Is this solving anything? No. Was it interesting if not provocative? I think yes. I will leave you with a few more books that you might consider reading. We can all benefit from learning about other viewpoints in this very heated topic eh? If you have any sociological books you think I should take a look at, feel free to list them. And Ladyday, if you are still reading this deep into this thread, that was quite an intelligent response to my question! Thankfully, others chose to actually think about it a bit.

Lavia(glad she didn't speak to whites on a regular basis in undergrad. Thankful that she's doing this now, so she knows not to waste her time in law school with useless conversations with uninformed, malintentioned people).

I didn't even see this until now! It is like you have multiple personalities Lavia. Maybe if you go to Howard you won't have to waste your time speaking to white people since there are only 15 in the whole class! Sheesh un-f*cking-believable. You give your argument a huge blemish when you make statements like that.

Lavia: (first, I didn't see where aungus belittled you - where was it?)

I am going to respond, but with the caveat that as I white man, I obviously have no personal experience dealing with anti-black discrimination. There is simply no way for me to truly know how you felt in those situations. Yet, maybe my different viewpoint will add to this discussion.

Why did I initially ask that question? Honestly, it was not to be rude in any way shape or form. Of course, it was to get some of the readers/participators in this thread to think a bit more about their definition of racism. I disagree with the definition because it excludes acts of racism on an individual level. I claim that the black person "discriminating" against a white applicant on the basis of his/her skin color is being racist. The position of power, wielding it to keep a person of another race from advancing to a higher strata... its all there in my opinion. Does this happen all the time? Probably not. Maybe the black man is angry about his race being treated as a subclass for so long? Time for some long deserved payback? Even if you choose to define racism as a systematic policy of wielding power and influence to keep another race down, you have to admit that this boils down to an aggregate of individual acts of racism. Just my opinion.

I feel that the issues you raised in your definition of systematic racism are somewhat questionable. Again, as a white man, I simply don't notice the same things you would as a black woman, so maybe I just don't see it when it is staring me in the face.

However, one issue I can personally identify with. You state that you fear driving through certain white areas known for KKK. Hate comes in all forms, white to black as well as black to white. I said this before, "if I had a dollar for every time a black person has yelled '@#!* you cracker...'" Mind you this is while I was driving through predominantly black neighborhoods on my way to volunteer in a predominantly black junior high school. Are black people mad because of the way they have been treated? Sure. Do they have a right to be? Sure. Does it make it right? No. I have several good white friends that have been jumped/beaten by groups of young black men just for fun. They weren't being robbed. Just random acts of violence that resulted in a couple scars and some knocked out teeth. But now we are straying into black-->white hate crime which is a whole other can of worms.

I don't think there is systematic racism on TV or in school textbooks. In fact, I think that most white people are so scared of being sued, they tip toe around the race issue desperately trying to be as politically correct as they can. Maybe you could elaborate a bit on that point, because I just didnít see it. When I watch COPS (which I admit is rare) I see plenty white crack/meth heads along with the black and hispanic. My white eyes perhaps?

This is all about setting things on an equal ground for all people isn't it? Some of you feel that AA is the way to bring about equality of opportunity, while I on the other hand believe that a complete overhaul of the public education system is a better solution. I believe that AA causes just as many problems as it attempts to solve. When you have minorities living in poor inner city neighborhoods, tax dollars from these neighborhoods going to fund public schools, hence terrible schools, of course there is going to be a system of inequality. I don't feel this is systematic racism directed at black people. It is simply a system of inequality for members of the lower strata of society (many of whom happen to be black, hispanic, but also white mind you). What is the solution? Average the tax base for public schools across the entire nation. Then take a trillion dollars from defense spending and put it into public education. It would be a start.

Once again, Nola reveals her/his color(s). I won't say "shame on you." You are also a product of the brainwashing of this system. If I were white, I may feel the same way you do. I hope, though, that I wouldn't have the audacity to tell people what they "Need." Are you implying that you know what I need, and that you have the right to tell me that?

Hah! This is too funny. Thank you for waking me up from my brainwashed slumber.

FYI: "A shame" does not equate to "shame on you."

FYI: "You need to read this book" means that I THINK you need to read a certain book. Do I THINK I know what you need to read? Yep. Do I have the right to tell you what I THINK you need to read? Of course I do. Do you have the right to keep the wool pulled over your eyes with regards to a view contrary to your own? Of course you do. Ignorance is bliss. And is it really arrogant for me to advise a book that I think you need to read? I am not pretending to know anything about you personally. I simply named a book that I THINK would completely change your thought process had you the will to read it.

And, whom did I accuse of white power? The system that controls this country's politics, money, and education? I stand by that. Please point out to me when I accused any individual of this.

You labeled aungus white power (or at least his viewpoint).

Please elaborate (without using insults if you could) about the systematic racism that is deeply ingrained in American society. I would love to hear your take on that. Who knows lavia, maybe you have some valid points that will change my mind? Who knows?